I use BaT, PCarMkt, Cars & Bids, Hagerty Marketplace........just never got started on Hemmings

I believe Hemmings doesn't focus so much on Auctions lacking personnel. When Richard/Doug were there Auctions were a factor. Changes such as the discontinued 'Classic Car' mag, now incorporated into Hemmings Motor News, may have, I believe, contributed to what appears as it's near demise. I believe in change when it's for the better . Unfortunately. This is not the case.

Sometimes there are some deals to be had, so I check every so often.

I look at it only when referenced in your email blog.

As a professional, I have to because they come up as a comp, usually on the low side. As an owner, never. They don't have anything I am really interested in and the platform feels like a dud. With that said, I think every time I watch something sell, "damn, there might be some deals here to watch." (Mid-30s)

I enjoy Hemmings as an alternate source of information and stories. I’m not a collector, but I like a lot of different types of vehicles and view the Hemmings site daily. There’s almost always something I can relate to. I’m 73 and have lived through several eras of progress, changes and trends: 50’s garish style, 60’s muscle cars, European cars, then the success of Asian cars.

I do peruse the daily email listings

They just seem so out of touch. I occasionally search for a car and it's on hemmings and I don't get too excited. I do not know why. They seem so old school.

Just really do not think to go there. Stick to the Big 3.

Their info data isn’t quick enough as BATs is and the variety of vehicles is narrow but I still check daily in case something interesting shows up.

I didn’t know they do auction.

I absolutely love their new "Minimum Bid" feature! It eliminates all the pikers and lets the real bidders take action.

I still check them every 2nd or 3rd day. I doesn’t change very quickly, so that is enough to stay current . They get interesting cars, but the presentation is lacking. Showing 5-6 pictures for a car you’re asking $70k (or more) for is simply inadequate. Hemmings could do a much better job of ensuring consistency between listings, and ensuring listers meet a minimum standard.

You are spot on. Auctions are a side project. The real push is for 'Make an offer' listings.

Always looking at them

I like checking their listings because I'm interested in seeing as much of what's for sale as possible - but the listings on Hemmings' auctions just seem low activity/engagement form viewers/bidders. They need to find the recipe to generate more engagement which will drive traffic and bidding.

While you advocate for multiple platforms to succeed, presentation and realistic reserves are what sells cars. Unfortunately, Hemmings aging demographic has significant issues with photography/tech and presentation. I stopped going to the site.

The original auto bible….

bad management

I've been a subscriber since 1965, but won't be renewing next year.

As a dedicated employee, the first thing that comes to mind when I hear "Hemmings" is commitment to excellence. To me, Hemmings represents a legacy—one built on passion, integrity, and an unwavering dedication to both the automotive world and the people behind it. It's more than just a company or a brand; it's a community, a standard, and a place where hard work is recognized and where every detail matters. Whether it's preserving history or moving it forward, Hemmings stands for doing things the right way—and that resonates deeply with how I approach my work every day.

There is no doubt old-school classifieds, you can smell the book in your nose when the word is said. I can feel the handshake paired with being called "Pal".

I miss the magazines that are now out of print. The printed classifieds are a shadow of what they used to be but the online classifieds are good.

yep, I think old school cars, old school sellers, old school expectations for cars that no longer sell for what the seller thinks the car is worth.

A brand name that's been around for decades..I remember seeing their publication at the newstands (still there at Barnes and Nobles)..Would take so long to thumb through because it had so much stuff in it...Now it's smaller but still has interesting ads and articles in it...Most ads are already outdated thanks to the internet but still neat to look at in your hands...Old school baby....

Legacy dominant player in the space with sale formats that fit all sellers and buyers.

Decades of history focused on just that

Decline in overall efforts

What kind of questions are these: First of all NO ONE is keeping up with BAT. Is it even feasible for Hemmings to say they are apples to apples to BAT? Absolutely not. There are 20 online auction platforms running M-F every week. This isn't 2020 when it was just BAT, Carsandbids and Hemmings. Hemmings hasn't had private equity or a conglomerate like Hearst come in and push the envelope. It's just Real People in Vermont swimming really hard. So, these questions are offensive from a Hemmings staff perspective.

They have a different clientele……they have their owe niche.

Yes, it is actually quite easy if they paid the right team. Step 1: Burn it down. Step 2: Hire a young enthusiast team ready to story tell Step 3: Launch a new fresh look playing on their heritage. Step 4: Provide a local service at central locations where people can bring their car for a Hemmings team to prep the ad. Step 5: Provide a digital "yard" once a month for people to spend 4-5 hours pitching their cars to the community for a quick sale. They have the community, they have the eyes, now engage these people, don't try to re-find them.

They could blow C&B out of the water with real effort and a strong team leading the effort.

Based on my experience, there really is nobody with in-depth knowledge of the market on the auction team. I have had major issues with them regarding reserves that has often made me list my auctions elsewhere.

Hemmings, can compete. They are 2 different businesses tho. Look at the inventory. Bring a Trailer clearly pushes more exotics. It's 2 different audiences.

Moving at their own pace and not looking to make creat upheaval on major investment

They are so close to being a dinosaur but are still kicking. Engage the community!

I tried selling my Dad's 1928 Packard on Hemmings Auction / classified combo and they screwed it all up. In trying to correct things I got passed from one Gen-Z marketing woman to another. None had a clue about the hobby.

not contemporary enough to become a leader today

Though you focus on auctions, the vast majority of collector vehicle transactions take place in the grey market and are facilitated by classified and make offer listings. Hemmings is the dominant player in that space.

A dwindling group, Hemmings is doomed from the demographics .

There are entry level affordable cars for the young folks……where else ?

I will not post a modern Ferrari to anything Hemmings does. The '63 Vette, of course. That easy.

you are being too kind when you say 50+, I think it's really 70 years old plus - no kidding. Think about their base. Their peak was in the 70's and 80's and the collectors were old then. Most of those guys are dead.

Would buy if I saw something I wanted.

So I've sold a dozen cars at auction with Hemmings, with each of those times being because Bring a Trailer and Cars & Bids would not, so third fiddle effectively. Most of these auctions were thus lower dollar cars with usually Luke warm, but not disastrous results. The last time I sold with them was June of 2024 and I was actually impressed with the result, it was a great sale and the auction had over 10k views which is strong.

The biggest PRO for selling with them at the time (against an exhaustive list of cons) was that they had a few excellent people who worked there and that I could call to discuss auctions, cars, process, etc with. This was great and if it wasn't for my contact there (shout out to Raina) I would not have been selling with them.

They decided in late 2024 to eliminate a large swath of employees, my contact person was gone, and as such I have not sold with them since. All that is left is an impossibly clunky website with indefensible in auction ads for gas station Rhino 5000 pills, a bad search function, poor seller interface, and all for an ironically soft tepid auction result.

There is SO much potential there to become THE place for the older generation buyer/seller, but they just can't stop being lost at sea.

Someone’s divorce required that the guy’s rare beloved collector car be advertised for sale via mailed written bid sent to the wife’s attorney. The ad was buried in the print version under ‘Mixed Makes’ category. I sent a very low but still fair offer given that inspection was not possible. I got it and had to act quickly to have it retrieved because the guy was very unhappy.

As a long tenured employee of Hemmings and now a current listing specialist for Hemmings Auctions, I am no doubt committed to upholding a standard of excellence in service and integrity within the Hemmings community. Your statement "I’m reminded how little effort seems to go into it" was taunting.

In every way, we are professional, helpful and knowledgeable. We respond promptly via CALLS, emails and texts. Thoroughly providing information and advice to help sellers produce or supply the right information to make listings more noteworthy and to give our buyers the confidence needed to bid on our vehicles. Hemmings recently started the minimum bid option. In such a short period of time, it has proven to encourage competitive bidding as well as help gauge the true market value of a vehicle category or model -- no different than a color gauge to reserve.”

Over the past 18 months, I've listed six classic cars on Hemmings Classifieds. Not one was sold based on the listings on there. During that same period, I purchased two cars, both of which I was the high bidder, but the reserve was not met. In both cases, we ended up coming sealing deals in their Buy Now Make Offer section. The site is at best kludgy with a horrible search engine and worse, once an auction ends, you can't easily find the listing results. A clear lack of transparency.

Very satisfied selling price exceed my expectations but on another vehicle that I . to sell they insisted on a low reserve price which I refused to list.

It was pre-internet, probably 1985 so not applicable today. It worked though!

Just don’t feel like it would be worth the effort

I owned a ‘55 T-bird restomod that I bought on BAT. Four years later tried to sell it on BAT but didn’t come close to reserve. Lots of nitpicking. Sold it a couple of months later on Hemmings to an older gentleman who told me he didn’t like the vibe of BAT.

I think they should commit to one or the other, auction or ad. Copy BATs daily auction format

If the right car popped up, and I could get the lister to respond 🙄, I would.

it was disappointing, poor communication, the process wasn't outlined well. Regardless of the end result, it felt like the people I was working with either didn't care or were poorly trained

new management/a new parent company

Pricing…..longer advertising run per car, time to compare….

As a loyal subscriber, I have now given up on HMN. Their "exclusive" Hemmings Motor club was a stupid market move and particularly alienating to me.

I am on Hemmings every day. I also enjoy Saturday " No Reserve".

Engagement would make me browse. They have historical data and all kinds of stuff. Use it.

Hemmings needs a brand refresh. Their site and app is functionally not bad, but they come across as very old school. I’m sure their user base is older, and they will need to figure out how to get younger buyers. The magazine itself is like being teleported back to 1985, and 75% of the listings are from the same few sellers (eg Beverly Hills Car Club). Operationally, if they still employ the 100 people that their site says they do, it’s an opportunity to totally rethink the brand and what they stand for, and make it a great business.

I’ll continue to enjoy Hemmings along with other enthusiasts sites

Bring something different to the table. I wish someone would introduce 24-hour auctions.

I would like to be able to once again think that they are the experts in the collector car world. They are going to have to do some serious reorganization and hire some better people for that to happen.

Greater choice of cars is laughable, they have the largest inventory available of anyone

Why would I eat at a bad restaurant if a better one exists? I see Hemmings venture as a joke. They had a phenomenal database and still can’t get traction. This is now more evident as Hagerty has really started to excel and has a similar ecosystem. I really think it comes down to lackluster hiring and focus. I also know they killed all but the Hemmings Motor News title, so the auction space should be seen as a financial life raft.

upgrade look and feel